Michael Hession

YouTube is expanding its video manipulation options with a new feature that will automatically fix up your crappy video footage. The edits include color correction and image stabilization.

But there's a catch: Any time video is manipulated digitally, it is degraded to some extent. Automating the manipulations, as opposed to making adjustments as the user's eye sees fit, often results in some wacky and gross results. Software stabilization in particular is an imperfect art—common methods to compensate for shaky movement can lead to pixelated or warped images.

It will be interesting to see how well YouTube's tools function when processing the vast diversity and quality of video content submitted. Luckily, the company had the sense to make the automatic fix optional, and to allow you to revert back to the original video if you are dissatisfied with the results. [YouTube via The Next Web]